Weird and Wonderful Mushrooms: Unusual Names, Photos, and Bizarre Fungi

Unusual fungi are the wild oddities of the woodland kingdom — species so strange in shape, colour and texture that many people struggle to recognise them as fungi at all. Beyond the familiar cap-and-stem mushrooms, forests hide bracket fungi shaped like horses' hooves, coral-like tufts, stinkhorns that reek to spread their spores, and specimens that bleed a blood-red juice when cut. This guide identifies the most remarkable of them, explains where they grow, how to tell edible from poisonous, and how to photograph them well.

Diversity and characteristics of unusual fungi

Unusual fungi share one trait: their fruiting bodies break the mental template of a "mushroom" — no neat cap, no ordinary gill, and often a bizarre colour or texture. Fungi are neither plants nor animals; they form their own kingdom, feeding by absorbing nutrients from soil, wood or living hosts. The visible mushroom is only the reproductive organ of a much larger organism whose thread-like mycelium spreads unseen through the substrate. Because these fruiting bodies are short-lived and easy to overlook, fungi remain one of the most under-photographed and under-documented groups in nature.

Fungal morphology and visual identification

Fungal morphology is the first key to identification, because shape, spore-bearing surface and colour separate the major groups at a glance. Instead of gills, some fungi carry their spores in pores (bracket fungi and Boletus), on teeth or spines (tooth fungi), inside a jelly-like mass, or on branching coral-like arms. Spore dispersal mechanisms vary just as widely: puffballs such as Lycoperdon perlatum puff out spore clouds when struck by rain, stinkhorns coat their tips in a sticky, smelly slime that insects carry away, and inkcaps dissolve their own caps into a black liquid to release spores. Noting the spore surface, the presence of a ring or volva, and any change when the flesh is cut or bruised is the fastest route to a confident name.

Habitats and growing conditions

Where a fungus grows is itself a clue to its identity, because most species associate closely with particular trees or substrates. Many fungi are mycorrhizal partners of specific trees — Chanterelle and Amanita muscaria favour birch and pine, while others fruit only on oak, beech, or rotting timber. Damp, shaded woodland with plenty of leaf litter and decaying wood is the richest ground, and autumn is the peak fruiting season across Europe, Britain and the UK. Woodland fungi ecology links these organisms tightly to their hosts: the fungus recycles dead wood and, in mycorrhizal cases, trades minerals for sugars with living roots. Learning the local tree species is therefore one of the best mushroom hunting tips, and it underpins every regional foraging guide.

Bracket fungi

Parasitism of bracket fungi and interaction with host trees

Bracket fungi are among the clearest examples of fungal parasitism, feeding on the living or dead wood of their host tree over many years. Their mycelium penetrates the trunk and slowly digests the timber, which is why an old bracket often signals internal rot in the tree. Some, like Bracket fungi of the Mazegill group, produce tough, woody shelves; others remain leathery. This host relationship echoes the more dramatic parasitism seen in Cordyceps and Cordyceps militaris, which infect insects rather than trees — the fungus consumes its host from within and finally erupts as a fruiting body, a striking illustration of fungal parasitism and host interaction.

Growth patterns and habitat of bracket fungi

Bracket fungi grow as stacked, semicircular shelves fixed directly to bark, adding a new layer of pores each year so their age can sometimes be read like tree rings. They favour dead standing trunks, fallen logs and wounded living trees, thriving wherever wood stays moist. Because they are perennial rather than fleeting, brackets are visible year-round, unlike the soft fungi that vanish within weeks. Their firm, woody bracket habit makes them a dependable landmark for anyone learning to read woodland decay.

Common stinkhorn

It is like a living money box — though with a revolting smell (more detail: Different types of mushrooms). This is the common stinkhorn, Phallus impudicus. The sharp odour, so unlike other mushrooms, serves the stinkhorn for reproduction: the smell attracts swarms of insects, which unwittingly carry its spores across the forest. The stinkhorn family includes many strange relatives — the elegant Veiled stinkhorn or bridal veil fungus Phallus indusiatus, which drapes a lace-like net beneath its cap, all of which pass through an egg-like stage before the fruiting body bursts upward.

Cauliflower fungus (hen of the woods)

Identification and features of the cauliflower fungus

The cauliflower fungus, Sparassis crispa, is instantly recognisable as a dense, brain-like or lettuce-like rosette of wavy, ribbon-shaped lobes growing at the base of conifers and oaks. It should not be confused with Hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa), though both are called cauliflower or ram's-head fungi in different regions. The flesh of young specimens is white, firm, and pleasant in smell and taste; older specimens turn bitter and unfit to eat. Nicknamed the "cauliflower fungus" and "mushroom happiness," it is prized as a delicacy in Western Europe.

Large mushroom specimens and their scale

Large fungi like the cauliflower fungus provide some of nature's most dramatic scale references, with single fruiting bodies weighing up to ten kilograms. The Oyster mushroom also produces record-breaking clusters, sometimes forming shelves broad enough to fill both hands. For scale, foragers often photograph such giants beside a hand, a knife or a boot. These heavyweight edible masses show how fungi, given the right host and moist autumn weather, can outgrow almost any other woodland organism in a single season.

Coral fungus (yellow spindles)

It looks like a branching lemon-yellow shrub 10–15 centimetres tall. The yellow coral fungus is quite edible, though of low quality. It is easily confused with the smaller jelly-textured Yellow stagshorn, Calocera viscosa, which also glows lemon-yellow on conifer stumps but is rubbery rather than brittle.

Unusual fungi: Lachnea and Humaria

Cup fungi like these share their goblet shape with the Orange peel fungus, whose vivid orange discs really do look like discarded citrus peel scattered across bare soil. This cup-and-saucer group belongs to the ascomycetes, which fire their spores from tiny sacs lining the inner surface of the cup — a very different spore-release strategy from the gilled and pored fungi.

Beefsteak fungus (liver fungus)

The fruiting body is edible. It is soft, juicy and feels like a piece of meat to the touch. Cut it and a red juice runs out, very much like blood. Unlike the bracket fungi, the beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica) lives only a few weeks. This "bleeding" is a form of guttation, and it is one reason Fistulina hepatica is often used as a plant-based meat substitute — its fibrous, blood-tinged flesh can be sliced and cooked much like steak.

Devil's Fingers (Clathrus archeri)

Clathrus archeri, known as Devil's Fingers or the Octopus Stinkhorn, is one of the most alien-looking fungi in the world. It hatches from a gelatinous white "egg" and then unfurls four to seven crimson, tentacle-like arms coated in dark, foul-smelling spore slime. Native to Australia and Tasmania, it has spread to New Zealand, Europe and Britain, where it now fruits in gardens and woodland. Like its relatives the stinkhorns, Clathrus archeri uses stench rather than air currents to disperse spores, luring flies to its blood-red fingers. Its horror-film appearance makes it a favourite subject for aesthetic and macabre fungi photography.

Inkcaps (ink mushrooms): identification and characteristics

Inkcaps are named for their extraordinary habit of digesting their own gills into a black, ink-like liquid to release spores — a process called deliquescence. The Shaggy Ink Cap (lawyer's wig) is the best-known, edible when young and white but rapidly dissolving into black slime within hours. The delicate Hare's foot inkcap, a member of the Inkcaps group, is covered in fine downy scales that give it a furred, hare-paw look. Because they auto-dissolve so quickly, inkcaps must be identified and eaten fresh; an old inkcap is little more than a puddle of natural ink.

Jelly fungi: types and characteristics

Jelly fungi are soft, gelatinous, translucent fungi that swell in wet weather and shrivel to a hard crust in dry spells, rehydrating repeatedly through the season. The Yellow brain fungus forms wobbly golden folds on dead branches, while Pseudohydnum gelatinosum — the jelly tooth or Jelly tongue — is a clear, quivering wedge hung with tiny gelatinous spines. Related gelatinous species include the lemon-yellow Yellow stagshorn (Calocera viscosa). These fungi feel rubbery to the touch and are among the strangest textures a forager will encounter, though most jelly fungi are more curiosity than kitchen ingredient.

Edible unusual fungi and their flavour profiles

Many unusual fungi are not only safe to eat but genuinely delicious, with flavours ranging from meaty to fruity and nutty. Beyond the cauliflower fungus and beefsteak fungus described above, the wild edible roster includes the apricot-scented Chanterelle, the frilly Oyster mushroom, the culinary superstar Morel Mushroom, the nutty Saffron Milk Cap, the tall Parasol mushroom, and the woodland-farmed King Stropharia. Cultivated relatives such as the Button Mushroom and the slender Enoki Mushroom show how varied the group is on the plate. Flavour and texture vary enormously:

• Chanterelle — peppery, apricot-scented, firm and golden.
• Oyster mushroom — mild, savoury, tender, quick to cook.
• Morel Mushroom — deep, nutty and earthy, best cooked thoroughly.
• Beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica) — acidic, meaty, sliced as a steak substitute.
• Hen of the woods and cauliflower fungus — rich, aromatic, prized in Western Europe.

Nutritionally, edible fungi are low in fat and rich in protein, B vitamins, minerals and fibre, which is why they are increasingly used as meat substitutes. They can be preserved by drying, freezing, pickling or salting to extend the short foraging season, and chefs such as Stephan Gates and programmes like CBBC Incredible Edibles have popularised cooking with wild and unusual species.

How to tell edible mushrooms from poisonous ones

Telling edible mushrooms from poisonous ones demands positive identification of the exact species — never a shortcut rule of thumb. There is no reliable folk test: colour, smell, insect damage and "silver-spoon" myths all fail, because some deadly species look, smell and even taste pleasant. Safe foraging follows a few firm principles:

• Identify to species with a trusted field guide or an expert before eating anything.
• Learn the deadly lookalikes for every edible you pick.
• Check spore surface, ring, volva, flesh colour changes and habitat together.
• When in any doubt, throw it out — no meal is worth the risk.

Dangerous and poisonous fungi: how to recognise them

The most dangerous fungi are those that mimic edible species, so recognising them is a matter of learning specific warning signs. Amanita muscaria, the iconic red-and-white fly agaric, is toxic and hallucinogenic; the wider Amanita group contains the deadliest mushrooms of all, marked by a cup-like volva at the base and a ring on the stem. The bioluminescent Jack O'Lantern Mushroom and Omphalotus nidiformis glow faintly in the dark and are poisonous imitators of the Chanterelle. Pale Angel wings and various Crepidotus species resemble oyster mushrooms but should be avoided. Any volva, any ring, gills that don't run down the stem, or a bruising reaction should trigger caution — and unknown species should be photographed, not eaten.

Growing unusual fungi at home

Growing unusual fungi at home is realistic for several gourmet species using ready-made spawn and a suitable substrate indoors. The easiest to cultivate are the Oyster mushroom, which fruits on straw or coffee grounds, the Enoki Mushroom, and the King Stropharia for outdoor wood-chip beds. Indoor cultivation needs three things: clean spawn, a moist pasteurised substrate, and stable humidity with fresh air and indirect light. Kits let beginners harvest within weeks, while more advanced growers move on to Lion's Mane and shiitake. Home cultivation also removes the identification risk of foraging, since you know exactly which species you are growing.

Gallery of unusual fungi species

A gallery of unusual fungi shows just how far these organisms depart from the ordinary toadstool, spanning glowing blues, blood-reds and coral golds. Standout oddities worth seeking out or admiring in photographs include:

• Entoloma hochstetteri — a vivid sky-blue mushroom from New Zealand, famous enough to feature on a banknote.
• Hydnellum peckii — the "bleeding tooth" fungus, oozing blood-red droplets across a white cap through guttation.
• Rhodotus palmatus — the wrinkled peach, pink and netted like coral.
• Xylaria polymorpha — "dead man's fingers," black club-shaped stumps rising from buried wood.
• Slime mould — not a true fungus, but a creeping, colour-shifting organism often photographed alongside them.
• Rare tooth fungi such as Thelephora spiculosa and the Devil's tooth (Hydnellum), found in old Scottish pine forests around Laurieston in Scotland.

Rare and endangered fungi like these are increasingly documented by dedicated naturalists. Photographer Bernard Spragg from New Zealand has released thousands of high-quality fungi images into the public domain, and communities on Pinterest, Reddit and video sites help spread sightings from Nepal, the American Midwest — Michigan and Missouri — and across the UK. Because fungi remain under-photographed, every well-documented find adds real scientific value.